The Strategic Rail Authority yesterday published its long-awaited blueprint for the railways. But will it be enough to win over frustrated passengers?

SINCE the railways were privatised in 1995, passenger numbers have increased by up to 30 per cent. Train cancellations and delays, timetable changes and major accidents, may have dented public confidence in our railways, yet the passengers have kept on coming. Many will have had no choice but to cope with the steadily worsening rail network, which has been crumbling away for 40 years. But yesterday, amid the prospect of more crippling strike action, came hope in the form of the ten-year blueprint drawn up by the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA).

Contained in the documentwere not just plans for major upgrade work, such as the East Coast Main Line, but smaller ventures, such as creating new stations on the Durham Coast Line at Billingham, Hart Station and The Ings at Redcar. Millions have been pledged towards revamping stations and creating new waiting rooms and car parks.

"It doesn't sound a lot, but it can make a huge difference," according to Ernie Preston, secretary of the North-East branch of the Rail Passengers Committee. "If you're standing outside on a freezing cold platform for five minutes waiting for a train, it can alter your whole approach to travel if you spend that time inside in a warm, waiting room.

"But one of the very positive things about the plan is that it's actually there, after we've waited for such a long time. I see it as a determination that the chairman of the SRA and his team are actually going to deliver this time."

The challenge of putting right years of chronic under-investment and limited maintenance is huge. Richard Bowker, SRA chairman, agrees the railways have been starved of cash for three decades, and says the main priority is turning around Railtrack and dragging it out of Government-controlled financial administration.

Mr Bowker believes the problems with Railtrack need to be dealt with before the blueprint can be implemented. It is a view shared by industry experts, who say even short-term plans in the strategy will be in doubt until the Railtrack situation is resolved.

Peter Lawrence, chairman of campaign group Railfuture, says: "While it has been suggested that some of these schemes can be implemented without connections to Railtrack, we believe all the ideas in the SRA document will depend upon what happens to it."

But even when the Railtrack's dilemma has been solved, the question remains of whether public confidence can be restored? Will the promise of an upgraded East Coast Main Line by 2010 be enough to convince passengers to hop on board now?

"There is no question our rail services are in a mess. Fares, strikes, delays, infrastructure problems, is it any wonder rail users are becoming disillusioned with rail travel?" says Mr Lawrence.

"I travelled by train on Sunday. My train had to be diverted simply because engineering works overran, and that is happening more frequently. That is why I think it is imperative that the Government gets its act together and say what it is going to do with Railtrack. Until it is sorted I can't see how customer confidence can be boosted. All passengers want is reliability of service and a guaranteed comfortable journey."

Brian Milnes, chairman of the Tees Valley branch of environmental transport group Transport 2000, says passengers will only give their trust when services are improved. "People want good quality services they can rely on and trains that run all day long, not just stop completely after 9pm. If something does go wrong they want reliable information so they know what's happening. Things have definitely got worse, and more and more people are going out and getting cars. And once they own a car and realise how convenient it is, it's going to be very difficult to get them out of it."

Passengers are not the only people who need a confidence boost. The SRA blueprint is heavily reliant on private sector funding, and rail experts say new investors will only by attracted by the Government committing high levels of on-going funding. The plan needs £23bn from the private sector to carry out the major projects, such as the East Coast Main Line upgrade.

Railtrack's chief executive, Steve Marshall, says the "massive" contribution from the private sector will not be forthcoming, unless the confidence of Railtrack's private investors is restored by ensuring they get fair value - or more - for their shares. Also necessary is a fast-track plan, with a timetable, to get Railtrack out of administration with a simplified industry and regulatory structure.

"Currently, the spectre of the treatment of Railtrack - as it languishes in administration - and its investors who are being invited to underpin the massive new investment, casts a shadow over the delivery of the plan," he says.

Peter Lawrence also remains doubtful as to the Government's success in securing private funding. "If private investors can see that the railways are going forward, that's going to attract them, but until confidence is built up with the existing Railtrack organisation, then they are going to be reluctant to invest. It's up to the Government to give strong direction over Railtrack, and if it does that as a way forward for the rail system, it will attract the investment we desperately need.

"There is tremendous opportunity to increase rail use. People do want to travel by rail and we can move more freight by rail. We need to see the Government take steps together with the SRA to restore passenger confidence immediately, not in the future."